MARKETS, P8 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P9 REPAYMENT PROBLEM FOR IOS, ANDROID USERS RACE FOR WHITE HOUSE High court ruling on education loans leaves banks in a bind Meta to let users verify accounts at `699 a month Mike Pence launches 2024 bid against former boss Trump KOLKATA, THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2023 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 32 NO. 186, 20 PAGES, `10.00 (NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN `10.00) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 63,142.96 ▲ 350.08 NIFTY: 18,726.40 ▲ 127.40 NIKKEI 225: 31,913.74 ▼ 593.04 HANG SENG: 19,252 ▼ 152.72 `/$: 82.55 ▲ 0.06 `/€: 88.29 ▲ 0.04 BRENT: $76.79 ▲ $0.50 GOLD: `59,801 ▼ `63 FE S P E C I A L S Multi-cloud app security: F5 looks at India New engineering centre in Bengaluru to drive product development ■ EFE, P7 No slouch when it comes to battery life, last for a significant time period ■ GADGETS, P7 140 MHz Miscellaneous items Total: % change in average economy class one-way air fare fromJune 6 to 7 (in `) DelhiSrinagar 14,155 13,203 12,128 11,112 DelhiMumbai 22,094 18,810 % Change -6.7 -8.4 -14.9 Source: Websites fares on the Delhi-Mumbai, DelhiSrinagar and Delhi-Leh routes were loweron June 7 compared to June 6. The average one-way fare between Delhi-Mumbai at `18,810 on June 7 was 15% lower than STOCKS RALLIED ON Wednesday with the Sensex moving 0.56% higher to close at 63,142.96. Bonds ruled steady with the yield on the benchmark at 6.98% as investors anticipated another pause on rate hikes from the MPC when it announces its decision on Thursday. 9,428 532 89,048* * Total amount of spectrum includes GST Spectrum purchase in auction 6.990 350.08 points 6.980 (0.56%) 298.9 points (1.09%) S&P BSE Midcap cap Index Jio 358.7 43,084 6.970 Top sectoral gainers (S&P BSE, % gain) Voda Idea Realty equityinfusion bythe government so the authorised capital of BSNL will be increased from `1.5 trillion to `2.1 trillion. 1.52 1.66 Capital Goods 77.00 1.70 1.94 Metal Utilities 76.00 2.99 Telecom Continued on Page 2 78.00 75.00 (inverted scale) 82.45 82.50 S&P BSE Smallcap ap Index June 6, 2023 18,799 Jun 7 82.55 82.60 (1.15%) 62,792.88 8 Jun 6 Rupee vs dollar points 82.65 82.55 82.61 Jun 6 Jun 7 Brent crude prices ($ per barrel) barre rrel) lowerthan `12,128 on June 6.These are in case of bookings done a day in advance. These are some of the routes on whichGoFirstoperatedandfareshad shot up abnormally with the carrier suspending operations. Fares are also trending down if booked seven days in advance on these routes. For instance, if a ticket for Delhi-Mumbai was booked on June5fortravelonJune12,theaverage fare comes to `7,450. A ticket booked on June 6 for the same route for travel on June 13,the fare comes down by0.5%to `7,416. If bookings are done on June 6 on theDelhi-Mumbairoutefortravelon June 20 (two weeks in advance), the average farewould be `7,320. Continued on Page 2 Claims worth `19,400 cr admitted for Future Retail RAJESH KURUP Mumbai, June 7 6.978 6.975 88,078 Airtel 6.98 6.985 Sensex (` crore) 10-yr govt bond yield (%) June 7 (close) 77.25 76.01 Open Farm sector gets a leg up with 7% hike in paddy MSP THE GOVERNMENT ON Wednesday hiked the minimum support prices (MSP) of the key kharif crops for2023-24season(July-June)by610.4%, the highest increase since 2018-19. The MSP for paddy, the key kharif crop, is fixed at `2,183/quintal,up 7% on year. Thehigher-than-expectedMSPs will drive the gross value added (GVA) in“agriculture and allied services”in the second half of the currentyear,as procurement begins in October. Agri GVA grew a healthy MSP INCREASE (Y-O-Y) FOR KHARIF CROPS 2018-19 Paddy* Tur Moong (%) 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 *Common variety *Medium staple, season (July-June) 5.5% in Q4FY23. Elevated MSPs, backed by procurement, could potentially boost rural income and purchasing power. In 2018-19, the government adopted the policy of MSPs to ensure at least 50% profits over computed cost of production of crops. In that year, MSP hikes for kharif crops were in the range of 4.1-28.1%. TheMSPformoongfor2023-23 season will be `8,558/quintal, up 10.4%. Tur MSP will be up 6% on yearat`7,000/quintal. Thesupport price for groundnut and soybean, keyoilseeds grown in kharif season have been increased by9% and 7% on year to `6377/quintal and `4600/quintal,respectively. Of course, the MSP purchases are more robust for paddy and wheat, than for other crops like oil seeds and pulses. “The increase in the MSPwould encourage farmers to expand area under pulses and oilseeds and could reduce the country's dependence on the imports,” P K Joshi, former director (SouthAsia),International Food Policy Research Institute, said. India imports about 56% of its total domestic requirement of edible oil while 15% of pulses consumption is met through imports. Continued on Page 2 Gopinathan’s FY23 pay rose 13%; peers saw a fall THE OVERALL REMUNERATION of former Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO Rajesh Gopinathan jumped 13.17% to `29.16 crore in FY23, according to the company's annualreportreleasedonWednesday. ThiswasGopinathan'slastyearasthe CEOofthecompany. Interestingly, despite leading the country's largest IT services company, Gopinathan drew lesser salary than his peers at Infosys and Wipro. His remuneration was also lower than what his predecessor, N Chandrasekaran, drew in FY17, beforebeingappointedasTataSons chairman. ThesalariesoftheCEOsofInfosys and Wipro,despite going down during the year, remained higher than `22,094 on June 6. Similarly, the average fare on the Delhi-Srinagar route on June 7 was 7% lower at `13,203than`14,155onJune6.On Delhi-Lehroute,averagefareonJune 7 was `11,112, which was 8.4% 63,142.96 FORMER TCS CEO’S SALARY OF `29.16 CR STILL LESS THAN AT INFY, WIPRO SAMEER RANJAN BAKSHI New Delhi, June 7 Booking on June 6 for travel on June 7 9.54 pm FUTURE GROUP FIRM Future Retail (FRL),whichisundergoinginsolvency proceedings, has received claims totalling`21,555crorefrom35creditors,includingBankofNewYorkMellon and Union Bank of India.Of the total,about `19,404 crore has been admitted,whileclaimsworth`2,151 crorehavebeenrejected. The other creditors who have raisedclaimsincludeBankofBaroda (BoB),Central Bank of India,Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank,State Bank of India,Centbank Financial Services and Axis Trustee Services among others.Bank of New York Mellon has the highest voting share of 21.18% in FRL’s committee of creditors (CoC),followed by Union Bank of India at 9.17% and Bank of Baroda at 8.95%,according to a regulatory update by its resolution professional. Continued on Page 2 Purchase price for kharif crops up 6-10.4% AI will lead to newer, better jobs: Altman SANDIP DAS New Delhi, June 7 Lava Agni 2 5G & Nokia C32: Decent mid-rangers that deliver 2500 GHz 6,565 10.4 ■ PAGE 20 17450 MHz Booking on June 5 for travel on June 6 Stocks rally ahead of RBI policy 7 6 Why NSE changed Bank Nifty expiry 26 GHz AIRFARES,WHICHHAVEbeensoaring recently, especially since May 3 whenGoFirstsuspendedoperations, seemtobeshowingsignsofmoderation with the civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asking airlines earlier this week to devise a mechanism to control the same. FollowingScindia’smeetingwith the airlines on Monday, the fares seem to be moderating. For instance, average one-way 1540 26,184 MHz 46,339 RELIEF FOR USERS DelhiLeh ROHITVAID New Delhi, June 7 5.1 4.8 6.6 EXPLAINER 3300 MHz 7-15% decline for bookings done a day in advance 4 ■ PAGE 9 2200 MHz Airfares moderate after Scindia’s nudge 5 2 IVAN MANUEL MENEZES, the Indiaborn CEO of the world's biggest spirits company Diageo, died on Wednesday, days after being hospitalised for treatment of stomach ulcer. THEGOVERNMENTONWednesday provided a fresh revival package of `89,047 crore to the loss-making BharatSancharNigam(BSNL).Thisis the third such package forthe stateowned telecom service provider -which last posted profit in financial year 2009 -- in the last four years. With this,the total amount that the government has injected into the company in the last four years adds up to over`3.2 trillion. The government had provided the first revival package worth `69,000 crore for BSNL and MTNL in 2019.The second package worth `1.64 trillion was announced in 2022. Interestingly, these packages do notinvolveanycashoutgoonthepart of the government,but are mostlyin the form of book transfers by way of equityinfusion.Forinstance,BSNLis allocated 4G/5G spectrum at the market determined prices but the companydoesnotactuallypay.Inlieu of the spectrum, the government takes equityin the company. The latest support also comes in the form of spectrum allotment to provide 4G and 5G services panIndia,including Delhi and Mumbai and uncovered areas,offering fixed wireless access services (FWA), as well as private networks solutions. The company has been allotted spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3,300 MHz, 26 GHz, and 2,500 MHz band.This has been done by way of 700 MHz 3 3.4 2 Diageo's India-born CEO Menezes no more JATIN GROVER New Delhi, June 7 (pan-India support Band 22 circles) (` crore) 3.7 2.2 1.2 AYURVEDIC PRODUCTS COMPANY Patanjali, which had ceded ground in toothpastes to Dabur and Colgate over the last few years, is now looking to claw its way back, launching both an aggressive marketing and distribution campaign, industry sources have told FE, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. ■ PAGE 4 BOOSTER DOSE Support to be in BSNL spectrum allocation the form of 4G, 5G Spectrum spectrum allotment allotted Budgetary 25 Patanjali aims to regain market share BSNL gets a new lifeline of `89,000 crore 13 THE GLOBAL ECONOMY is set for a weak recovery from the shocks of Covid and Russia’s war in Ukraine, dogged by persistent inflation and the restrictive policies of major central banks seeking to contain price pressures, the OECD said. ■ PAGE 9 TOTAL GRANTAT OVER `3.2 TRN 4.1 IN THE NEWS World economy set for inflation-plagued recovery, says OECD COSTTO COMPANY ■ According to theTCS annual report, Gopinathan earned over `25 crore as commission, a salary of`1.73 crore and `2.43 crore in other benefits. ■ Gopinathan's remuneration of `29.16 crore was also lower thanwhat his predecessor, N Chandrasekaran, drew in FY17 Gopinathan's. While, Salil Parekh, MD & CEO, Infosys, saw his remuneration go downby21%to`54.7crore,Wipro's ThierryDelaporte’ssalarywentdown by5%to`82croreduringtheyear. Salil Parekh, MD & CEO, Infosys, saw his remuneration go down by 21% to `54.7 crore whileWipro'sThierry Delaporte’s salary fell by 5% to `82 crore during the year K Krithivasan, Gopinathan's successor, will be getting a basic salary of `10 lakh per month which can go up to `16 lakh, commission as decided by the board and other benefits According to the TCS annual report,Gopinathan earned over `25 croreascommission,asalaryof`1.73 crore and `2.43 crore in other benefits.After his elevation to the CEO's positionfromachieffinancialofficer, Gopinathandrew`6.22croreinFY17 whichdoubledto`12.5croreinFY18 andhadbeensteadilyrisingsincebut forablipinFY20. Gopinathan, who has yet not revealed his future plans, has com- INSIDE TCS invests heavily in AI: Chandrasekaran PAGE 4 mittedtoassistthetransitionofleadershipatTCStillSeptemberthisyear. K Krithivasan,Gopinathan's successor,willbegettingabasicsalaryof `10 lakh permonthwhich can go up to `16 lakh,commission as decided by the board and other benefits like rent-freeresidentialaccommodation. The company's chief operating officer N G Subramaniam earned a total remuneration of `23.60 crore forFY23,upfromabout`20crorein FY22. The annual report said the increaseinmanagerialremuneration isat13.58%againstthemedianhike of 5.11% across its 614,000 permanentemployees. Says India should integrate AI with other services FE BUREAU New Delhi, June 7 SAM ALTMAN, CHIEF executive officer of OpenAI, on Wednesday played down the risk of thousands of jobs being at risk and said“there will be newer and better jobs going forward”. “In two generations, we can adapt to any amount of labour market change. Some jobs are going to go away.There will be new better jobs that are difficult to imagine today, he said at an event organised by Economic Times here on Wednesday. “I think when you give people better tools, they do better things. The floor lifts up,expectations lift,” he added. Altman, who will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday,said India has really embraced ChatGPT as the AI chatbot has witnessed several early adopters and enthusiasm. Talking about how Indian government can embrace AI, Altman said that the government should work on integrating AI with other services. He said: “It is super impressive what India has done in terms of national tech, national assets. But the government should focus on finding how theycan integrate this technologyin otherservices.Hopefully, we all start to use LanguageLearning Models (LLMs) to make government services way better.” Whatwouldyou do ifyouwere a ministry that oversaw technology in a country like India? To this,Altman replied, “The G20 is coming up and India can play a huge role in SAM ALTMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OPENAI THERE IS TOO MUCH OF A FRENZY OVER AI IN THE SHORT TERM, BUT IT IS STILL UNDER-HYPED IN THE LONG RUN global conversation about what this sort of regulatory might look like.” Altman who is in India on a worldwide trip to understand the governments’and industry’s views on artificial intelligence – something that ChatGPT has mainstreamed -- said the world can come together on evolving a regulatory framework. “If the governments cannot,we will ask the companies to do it.” He emphasised, however, that there should be no regulation on smallercompanies and it should be limited to only bigger companies like OpenAI and Google. Continued on Page 2 Kolkata
The Financial Express (FE) is a business paper that’s closest to the people who are in the business of business. From business policies to market trends to new developments, The Financial Express comes packed with incisive news on every relevant issue.